The important goals of Magnet® hospitals are to create supportive professional nursing care environments. A recently published paper found little difference in work environments between Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals. The aim of this study was to determine whether work environments, staffing, and nurse outcomes differ between Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals. A secondary analysis of data from a 4-state survey of 26,276 nurses in 567 acute care hospitals to evaluate differences in work environments and nurse outcomes in Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals was conducted. Magnet hospitals had significantly better work environments (t = -5.29, P < .001) and more highly educated nurses (t = -2.27, P < .001). Magnet hospital nurses were 18% less likely to be dissatisfied with their job (P < .05) and 13% less likely to report high burnout (P < .05). Magnet hospitals have significantly better work environments than non-Magnet hospitals. The better work environments of Magnet hospitals are associated with lower levels of nurse job dissatisfaction and burnout.


Writing at the dawn of the digital era, John Perry Barlow proclaimed cyberspace to be a new domain of pure freedom. Addressing the nations of the world, he cautioned that their laws, which were "based on matter," simply did not speak to conduct in the new virtual realm. As both Barlow and the cyberlaw scholars who took up his call recognized, that was not so much a statement of fact as it was an exercise in deliberate utopianism. But it has proved prescient in a way that they certainly did not intend. The "laws" that increasingly have no meaning in online environments include not only the mandates of market regulators but also the guarantees that supposedly protect the fundamental rights of internet users, including the expressive and associational freedoms whose supremacy Barlow asserted. More generally, in the networked information era, protections for fundamental human rights — both on- and offline — have begun to fail comprehensively.

Cyberlaw scholarship in the Barlowian mold isn't to blame for the worldwide erosion of protections for fundamental rights, but it also hasn't helped as much as it might have. In this essay, adapted from a forthcoming book on the evolution of legal institutions in the information era, I identify and briefly examine three intersecting flavors of internet utopianism in cyberlegal thought that are worth reexamining. It has become increasingly apparent that functioning legal institutions have indispensable roles to play in protecting and advancing human freedom. It has also become increasingly apparent, however, that the legal institutions we need are different than the ones we have.


Air Traffic controllers are responsible for navigating aircraft and sustaining a safe and efficient traffic flow in a four-dimensional air space. They apply separation rules to keep aircraft apart from each other and their wellcoordinated work and complete awareness of risks have made possible the combination of increased traffic intensity and strong safety records. Rules and procedures make up a significant part of the work and the locus of this study was to examine how the air traffic controllers, employed at the Swedish state enterprise LFV, perceive their current set of regulations. At each Traffic Service Unit operators are equipped with two operations manuals, and a particular focus was put on the design, use and management of the manuals. Furthermore, this study involved two observation sessions in two Air Traffic Service Units and twelve interviews with operators and domain experts. With the aid of the theory of Resilience Engineering, four essential functions have been identified in order to account for the underlying and interconnected functions behind rule implementation: monitoring, learning, anticipation and responding. Thereafter, each function has been divided into sub-categories that all are aimed to describe in what ways, individual as organizational, current rule management supports the air traffic controllers. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that there is need for a reorganization of the set of regulations at LFV, and that the maintenance of the operations manuals has been reduced because of constrained resources. An additional factor, which complicates the possibility to change the procedures, is that a major part of the content originates from international regulations. In addition, this thesis claims that safe and successful use of rules depends on more than the physical look and design of the operations manuals. Therefore, support of current set of regulations will be discussed in terms of document distribution, education, communication, purpose of procedures and approaches to rulefollowing.


This paper presents a method for automatically generating sound effects for an animation of branches and leaves moving in the wind. Each tree is divided into branches and leaves, and an independent sound effect generation process is employed for each element. The individual results are then compounded into one sound effect. For the branches, we employ an approach based on the frequencies of experimentally obtained Karman vortex streets. For the leaves, we use the leaf blade state as the input and assume a virtual musical instrument that uses wave tables as the sound source. All computations can be performed independently for each frame step. Therefore, each frame step can be executed on completion of the animation step. The results of the implementation of the approach are presented and it is shown that the process offers the possibility of real-time operation through the use of parallel computing techniques. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The heat-transfer coefficients have been determined for five steel cylinders having fins 1.22 inches wide and the spacing between the fins ranging from 0.022 to 0.131 inch. The cylinders were tested with and without baffles in a wind tunnel; they were also tested enclosed in jackets with the cooling air supplied by a blower. A maximum heat transfer was reached at a fin space of about 0.45 inch for the cylinders tested with each of the three methods of cooling investigated. The rise in temperature of the air passing between the fins and the change in flow pattern were found to be important factors limiting the heat transfer that may be obtained by decreasing the fin space. The use of baffles for directing the air around the cylinders with closely spaced fins proved very effective in increasing the over-all heat-transfer coefficient, provided that the spacing was not appreciably less than that for maximum heat transfer.


X- ray emission from a low energy (2.3 kJ) plasma focus energized by a 32 JlF capacitor charged at 12 KeV is investigated two fold: i) The continuum! bremsstrahlung X-rays are analyzed to obtain information about the electron plasma temperature in the pinch filament, and the X-radiation are employed for backlighting of a test of object (copper mesh), ii) X-ray emission in different energy windows, and its fluence anisotropy is investigated.

To determine the plasma electron temperature by continuum X-ray analysis, Co is selected as a filter, which discriminates the line radiation from the back ground impurities like carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, or the radiation from plasma focus electrodes, which are commonly made of copper. It is found to be a good choice to diagnose 0.5-7 KeV hot plasma in a device like plasma focus. The electron temperature at different deuterium filling pressures is found to vary from 2 - 5 KeV. It is about 2.5 KeV at 0.5 mbar. With increase in pressure, the temperature increases and attains its maximum value of 5 KeV at 2.5 mbar, and then gradually decreases to 2 KeV at 4.5 mbar. For argon plasma, the electron temperature at different filling pressures is found to vary from 1.5-7.0 KeV. It is about 5 KeV at 0.25 mbar, which increases to about 7 KeV at 0.5 mbar and then decreases to 1.5 ke V at 2.25 mbar.

When the device is operated with argon as the filling gas, the bulk of X-radiation emission is observed from the region close to the anode tip. These radiation are found suitable for backlighting in Al (1-1.56 KeV) and Ti (2.9-4.96 ke V) energy transmission bands. A simple technique to measure the fluence anisotropy of X-rays emitted from a source is presented. The simplicity of the technique and response curves of the photographic film along with corresponding filters enable one to readily use the same for diagnostic purposes in different sources like plasma focus, vacuum spark, Z-pinch and laser produced plasmas. As an application example, the technique is employed to measure fluence anisotropy of X-ray emission in a low energy plasma focus operated with hydrogen. It is found that with increase in hydrogen filling pressure, the anisotropy of X-ray emission is enhanced, although the total emission is lowered. It reveals that at lower filling pressure of 0.75 mbar, the X-ray emission is dominant due to interaction of energetic electrons in the current sheath, whereas at 2.5 mbar, the contribution of energetic electron beam is much higher.

K-series line radiation emission of Mo and Cu is studied with hydrogen as the filling gas. The measurable X-ray flux is observed in the pressure range of 0.5-3.5 mbar. Mo and Cu K-line radiation emission has the highest values of about 0.05 J/sr and 0.17 J/sr respectively at a filling pressure of 2.0 mbar. The corresponding efficiencies are 0.03% and 0.09% respectively. Total X-ray emission and efficiency in 47t-geometry are also obtained with values 4.12 J and 0.2% at 2.0 mbar. The emission in different energy windows, by employing high Z inserts (Pb, W or Mo) at the anode tip is investigated also. The X-ray flux from the focus region is observed measurable within the pressure range 0.25-3.5 mbar of hydrogen. The maximum emission in 47t-geometry is found 29.4:t0.2, 3.43:t0.05 and 4.00:t0.02 joules with Pb, Wand Mo inserted anodes respectively and corresponding wall plug efficiencies for X-ray generation are 1.28%, 0.15% and 0.2%. The X-ray emission is found dominantly as a result of electron beam activity at the anode tip that is confirmed by the images recorded by the pinhole camera.


This paper presents a neural network-based intrusion detection method for the internet-based attacks on a computer network. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) have been created to predict and thwart current and future attacks. Neural networks are used to identify and predict unusual activities in the system. In particular, feedforward neural networks with the back propagation training algorithm were employed in this study. Training and testing data were obtained from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) intrusion detection evaluation data sets. The experimental results on real-data showed promising results on detection intrusion systems using neural networks.


Renal failure occurs when the kidneys are unable to do their job: to filter wastes from the blood, help regulate blood pressure, and regulate salt and water balances in the body. As blood flows through the kidneys, it is filtered, and wastes are removed and sent to the bladder as urine. If kidney function becomes impaired, acute (rapid) or chronic (gradually developing) renal failure may occur. With acute renal failure, kidney function can return to normal if the underlying cause of the failure is discovered and successfully treated. The November 27, 2002, issue of JAMA includes an article about treatment of acute renal failure.


Abstract. In Turkey, an average of 24 people die in snow avalanches every year, mainly in the eastern part of Anatolia and in the eastern Black Sea region, where high-mountain ranges are close to the sea. The proportion of people killed in buildings is very high (87%), especially in comparison to other European countries and North America. In this paper we discuss avalanche occurrence, the climatic situation and historical avalanche events in Turkey; in addition, we identify bottlenecks and suggest solutions to tackle avalanche problems. Furthermore, we have applied the numerical avalanche simulation software RAMMS (rapid mass movements simulation) combined with a (digital elevation model) DEM-based potential release zone identification algorithm to analyze the catastrophic avalanche events in the villages of Uzengili (Bayburt province) in 1993 and Yaylaonu (Trabzon province) in 1981. The results demonstrate the value of such an approach for regions with poor avalanche databases, enabling the calculation of different scenarios and the estimation of run-out distances, impact pressure and flow height.


This article investigates the consequences of fast-track legislation in the European Union. Previous research has explained why fast-track legislation occurs and evaluated its democratic repercussions. This study focuses on the European Parliament (EP)'s intra-organisational response. It first describes how the early adoption of EU legislation has informalised legislative decision-making, transformed inter-organisational relations, and induced power shifts. It then discusses the political response, showing that actors seek to redress power shifts, that reform attempts centre on the control of negotiation authority and information flows, and that reform is highly contested. The research suggests that the chance of successful redress is low in Parliament as a decentralised organisation unless two conditions are met: (i) the extent of fast-track legislation reaches a critical level, and (ii) the organisation goes through a period of wider reform; the former increases the visibility of disempowerment and reputational loss, the latter allows package deals and/or the strategic use of norms. Based on qualitative document analysis and semi-structured elite interviews an analysis is made of how Parliament's rules of co-legislation have been contested, negotiated and reformed from the formal introduction of fast-track legislation in 1999 to the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Negotiating in the Context of Codecision Procedures in 2009. The analysis also shows that Parliament may have a price to pay for its successful fight for empowerment, namely a challenge to its institutional legitimacy and discontent of its of rank-and-file members. More generally, understanding the conditions for intra-organisational reform can inform the study of other democratic bodies which undergo a similar restriction and seclusion of de facto decision-making.


Pure titanium foils were bent by laser forming and the effect of c-d transformation and history of heat treatment of specimen on bending angle was investigated. The thickness of specimens was changed from 40 to 100om, the length of them was 20mm and the width of them was 10mm. The specimens were annealed at 600-1100oC for 30 minutes in argon atmosphere. A 20W YVO4 laser was employed and laser power was changed from 2 to 16W. From the experimental results, when laser power was increased, bending angle also increased and it was dramatically changed at the laser powers occurring c-d transformation and melting. Bending angle increased as grain size increased and it jumped up when grain size exceeded the foil thickness and then became constant. Bending angle decreased by annealing after forming and degree of decrease was greater when the annealing temperature before forming was lower.


An innovative tool has been developed to investigate in-situ monitoring of surface modification, which can be used in standard Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM). The device enables detection of topography modification on nanometer scale lateral- and subnanometer vertical resolution, which is important for reliability studies of MEMS and NEMS, where small moving parts may contact each other leading to wear. The novelty of the device is that surface modification (e.g. wear) is generated in a controlled way with a multifunctional cantilever and it is identified in-situ, the detection and the surface modification being decoupled but embedded in one and the same device.


This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness,
under Grant FFI2012-32221, and by the Junta de Andalucia, under Grant P12-HUM-23480.


Infection with high‐risk human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive cervical cancer (ICC). The distribution of HPV types in cervical diseases has been previously described in small studies for Canadian women. The prevalence of 36 HPV genotypes in 873 women with CIN and 252 women with ICC was assessed on cervical exfoliated cells analyzed with the Linear Array (Roche Molecular System). HPV16 was the most common genotype in CIN and ICC. The seven most frequent genotypes in order of decreasing frequency were HPV16, 51, 52, 31, 39, 18, and 56 in women with CIN1, HPV16, 52, 31, 18, 51, 39, and 33 in women with CIN2, HPV16, 31, 18, 52, 39, 33, and 58 in women with CIN3, and HPV16, 18, 45, 33, 31, 39, and 53 in women with ICC. HPV18 was detected more frequently in adenocarcinoma than squamous cell carcinoma (P = 0.013). Adjustment for multiple type infections resulted in a lower percentage attribution in CIN of HPV types other than 16 or 18. The proportion of samples containing at least one oncogenic type was greater in CIN2 (98.4%) or CIN3 (100%) than in CIN1 (80.1%; P < 0.001 for each comparison). Multiple type infections were demonstrated in 51 (20.2%) of 252 ICC in contrast to 146 (61.3%) of 238 women with CIN3 (P < 0.001). Adjusting for multiple HPV types, HPV16 accounted for 52.1% and HPV18 for 18.1% of ICCs, for a total of 70.2%. Current HPV vaccines should protect against HPV types responsible for 70% of ICCs in Canadian women. J. Med. Virol. 83:1034–1041, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The 9" European Meeting on Ferroelectricity (EMF-9) was held in Prague (Zofin Palace), Czech Republic, from July 12 through July 16, 1999. The main organiser was Department of Dielectrics, Institute of Physics, Academy of sciences of the Czech Republic. Altogether 3 11 participants from 28 countries attended the Conference, among them 62 participants from 10 non-European countries. These are about the same numbers as for the previous EMF-8 in Nijmegen. However, many other scientists (163 half of this number from Russia) had preregistered but could not participate mainly because of financial problems. Even though, 60 speakers were exempted from fees completely and 154 participants from less favoured countries paid variously reduced fees (including 46 students). Gordon & Breach, who offered free of charge Proceedings for all participants, sponsored the Meeting. The Programme Committee scheduled 5 plenary lectures (40 minutes) and 39 invited talks (30 minutes) in two parallel sessions. All of them were realised (only the invited talk by R. Boehmer was substituted with a similar talk by his co-author J. Hemberger); 3 out of the plenary and 21 out of the invited talks are published in these Proceedings. Furthermore, 45 oral presentations (20 minutes) were selected out of the submitted abstracts. Of these, 43 talks were presented in two sessions and 27 are published here. Out of the other 324 abstracts published in the Abstracts book, 261 were presented (including 8 post-deadline contributions) in poster form in 3 sessions (only those posters were accepted, where at least 1 author was present) and 178 are published here. Altogether, 9 papers were rejected and 110 were not submitted or their authors did not supply the revised text. The contributions at the Conference were divided into 20 groups according to their subject. Similar but reduced division into 15 sections is used here for the 177 accepted manuscripts, where the short oral and poster contributions are given according to the alphabetical order of the presenting author. In several instances the classification of manuscripts is changed from that used during the Conference. It is clear that classifying the papers is by no means an unambiguous procedure because the classification concerns the phenomena and types of materials studied in parallel. In any case, the order of Proceedings is not related to the timetable of the Conference. Concerning the number of papers, the most popular topics are still thin films and relaxors. More attention than in the past is paid to domain and domain structures, mainly owing to the applications in nonlinear optics. Unfortunately, most of the talks relevant to this topic are not presented in these Proceedings. Apparent progress is seen also in fundamental theoretical understanding of ideal bulk ferroelectricity; on the other hand the behaviour of doped crystals (particularly of incipient ferroelectrics), relaxors as well as thin films is far from being understood quantitatively. Liquid crystals, despite their certainly comparable importance, are not so much represented. This is obviously a consequence of a well-established separate series of international meetings on ferroelectric liquid crystals. At the Meeting (Tuesday evening) a very lively round table discussion on relaxors took place (moderator W. Kleemann and S. B. Vakhrushev) which was attended by numerous participants and lasted late into the night with the conclusion that many more studies are needed. A meeting of the International Advisory Board was held during the Conference. At the meeting Professor Robert Blinc, former chairman of the Board, resigned and Professor Wolfgang Kleemann (University of Duisburg) was elected new chairman. Several changes in the membership were also approved (the body has now 34 members from 17 countries) and it was decided to organise the next meeting, EMF-10, in Cambridge in 2003, under the chair of E. Salje and J. F. Scott.


The effect of microstructure and its distribution of pyrolytic carbon in different deposition stage in carbon-carbon composites infiltrated by multi-factor physical fields chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) on the mechanical has been studied by polarized -light microscopy, Raman spectra, scanning electron microscope and three-point bending tests. The temperature and the change of the [AS/VR]-ratio with progressive infiltration are key parameters for the formation of microstructure and its distribution of pyrolytic carbon around the same fiber. SL pyrolytic carbon corresponds to brittle failure mode and smooth two-step fracture surface due to its low and uniform texture,although the abnormal graphitization occurs in the carbon fiber near the fiber/matrix interface. In contrast, RL matrix can function for achievement of nonbrittle fracture behavior with a zig-zag-like fracture surface and a relatively high value of flexural strength due to high and nonuniform texture.


Alcohol, probably the most popular mood-altering drug, has frightening consequences when abused. Genetic factors and sociocultural influences contribute to alcoholic behavior. Study of endocrines, neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides may reveal biological markers to help identify those at risk for alcoholism. Drinking patterns are often based on the expectation of alcohol's mood-altering quality. The focus of treatment has expanded to include not only drinking behavior but also emotional, social, and vocational adjustment. Controlled drinking has proved effective for some, so that complete abstinence is no longer the sole goal of therapy. Behavioral, martial, group and individual, outpatient and inpatient therapy, and drugs as adjuncts, all help some alcoholics, but none is a cure for all. Answers still lag behind questions but researchers have registered some advances that challenge therapists to enlarge therapeutic approaches to fit the multifaceted picture of alcoholism.


Over the past two decades we have seen dramatic improvements in the efficacy, safety and availibity of antiretroviral therapy (ART). In the USA and Europe, life expectancy in people living with HIV disease approaches that of the HIV-uninfected.1 Even in regions hardest hit by the HIV epidemic, effective HIV therapy has reversed more than a decade of HIV-related decreased survival.

Despite these advances in ART, motivations to pursue HIV cure remain strong due to the toxicity, adherence challenges, cost and access to care issues associated with HIV therapy, as well as the persistant stigma associated with having HIV infection. Further and renewed motivation comes from a single case of HIV cure after stem cell transplantation for acute leukaemia.

Given the tremendous improvements in ART, it is important to assess how effective and safe an HIV cure would need to be in order to be a viable option compared to ART. We argue that this should be done prior to the availability of a cure to provide realistic goals for researchers and policy makers.

One methodology that has been increasingly popular over the past decade is the use of mathematical simulation modelling to assess the clinical impact, cost-effectiveness and clinical role of different treatment strategies in HIV disease, as well as in medicine broadly.2 Such models provide a framework and approach for using the best available data at any point in time, and assessing the potential impact of emerging innovations. Further, unlike individual trials focused on a single endpoint, these models can integrate multiple data sources to project beyond the timeline or outcomes of individual studies and project long-term outcomes in many domains, including virologic, immunologic, clinical and cost.3

Mathematical models have particular value in their ability to assess uncertainty in clinical care. Examples include parameters determined in …


. Along with the increasing popularity of agile software development, software work has become much more social than ever. Contemporary software teams rely on a variety of collaborative practices, such as pair programming, the topic of our study. Many agilists advocated the importance of collocation, face-to-face interaction, and physical artefacts incorporated in the shared workspace, which the COVID-19 pandemic made unavailable; most software companies around the world were forced to send their engineers to work from home. As software projects and teams overnight turned into distributed collaborations, we question what happened to the pair programming practice in the work-from-home mode. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of remote pair programming in two companies. We conducted 38 interviews with 30 engineers from Norway, Sweden, and the USA, and used the results of a survey in one of the case companies. Our study is unique as we collected the data longitudinally in April/May 2020, Sep/Oct 2020, and Jan/Feb 2021. We found that pair programming has decreased and some interviewees report not pairing at all for almost a full year. The experiences of those who paired vary from actively co-editing the code by using special tools to more passively co-reading and discussing the code and solutions by sharing the screen. Finally, we found that the interest in and the use of PP over time, since the first months of the forced work from home to early 2021, has admittedly increased, also as a social practice.


The delivery of therapeutics across biological barriers is a limiting factor in achieving ideal pharmacologic responses in patients. Modulating endocytic mechanisms with targeted, clinically-relevant interventions can increase intracellular delivery across biological barriers, and improve the efficacy of drugs. Ultrasound-microbubble (USMB) is a novel targeted delivery strategy that has shown promising potential in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The collective behaviour of microbubbles in the acoustic field can increase the plasma membrane permeability of surrounding cells, and enhance the delivery of therapeutics across biological barriers. USMB achieves the intracellular delivery of drugs through sonoporation and modulation of endocytic pathways, but the type of endocytic pathways and the mechanisms of activation were not known. I identified that, under distinct regulations, USMB enhances the rate of both clathrin-mediated endocytosis, as well as a non-receptor-mediated pathway responsible for internalizing bulk fluid into cells. I discovered that lysosome exocytosis and acidsphingomyelinase are required for the regulation of the clathrin-mediated pathway but not fluidphase endocytosis following USMB treatment. Given the potential of the clathrin-independent pathway to form high capacity carries for the uptake of fluids and therapeutics into cells, I aimed to identify the molecular identity of the proteins that drive the formation of non-clathrin coated vesicles following USMB treatment. I established that flotillins contribute to the USMB-induced vesicular uptake of fluid into cells, a phenomenon that depends on palmitoyltransferase DHHC5 and the Src-family kinase Fyn. Furthermore, I confirmed that USMB treatment can enhance the intracellular delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs such as cisplatin, and improve its therapeutic efficacy in a flotillin-dependent manner. This project established that both clathrin-mediated endocytosis and flotillin-dependent endocytosis can be modulated by clinically-relevant USMB treatments to enhance drug uptake and efficacy, revealing an important new strategy for targeted drug delivery in cancer treatment.


The environmental imbalance that chemical fertilizers cause in soils and the need to preserve organic matter for the sustainability and productivity of agricultural systems, has resumed the use of organic fertilizers. The objective of the present study was to determine the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics as indicators of quality in organic fertilizers. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design, four replications and seven treatments¸ T1: calcium leachate, T2: calcium humus liquid extract, T3: banana humus, T4: concentrated calcium humus, T5: vermicompost, T6: vermicompost liquid extract and control T7: fertilizer of commercial origin (control). (4) The vermicompost, banana humus and commercial fertilizers showed high values of nitrogen and phosphate. The fertilizers had lower pH and electric conductivity (EC) levels than those indicated in NOM-021-RECNAT-2000. The correlation coefficient was positive between EC and nutrients. The commercial fertilizer presented high concentrations of Cr and Pb, without exceeding the maximum permissible limits for the NOM-052-SEMARNAT-2005. As a biological response, lettuce and radish seeds had the lowest GI in banana humus, concentrated calcium humus and commercial fertilizer. The microbiological analyzes showed an absence of the Salmonella indicator and results greater than the maximum allowable limit for use in agriculture in fecal and total coliforms. Organic fertilizers are made with residues of plant, animal or both, some without adequate control, so they become a contamination problem. Due to the increasing demand for organic fertilizers, its study is important since there is no Mexican regulation that defines technical norms to establish quality characteristics in organic fertilizers to be used in agriculture. The physicochemical and biological characteristics vary depending on the material used in the elaboration, since it is a factor that must be considered to obtain a final product that provides available nutrients to the plants.


which 72 per cent. were admitted voluntarily. The service patients numbered 15 at the end of the year, and the rate-aided patients 361. With regard to the age of patients the mean age on admission was 46.2 years (men 44.7, women 47.3); the youngest was a boy of 13 and the oldest a woman of 86. As regards occupation, 57 cases belonged to the professional classes, 34 were commercial, 31 industrial, 23 agricultural, 115 domestic, and 5 cases were undefined. Pathological stresses or bodily ill-health in one form or another could be traced in nearly all cases, occurring most frequently in such forms as general debility, exhaustion, malnutrition, arterio-sclerosis, heart diseases, and anaemia; organic brain diseases were found in 6 per cent. The mental illness had occurred at the critical periods of life in some 69 per cent., while conditions such as anxiety, grief, and shock were traced in 33 per cent., and alcoholic excess in 9.8 per cent. (men 18.2, women 3.3). Among the types of mental illness constitutional psychoses, such as melancholia, confusion, dementia, and mania, predominated to the extent of 84 per cent. The recovery rate among the voluntary cases was 35.6 per cent. of the number admitted, while among the certified cases it was 30 per cent. The general death rate was 9.4 per cent. The mean age at death was58.2 years, and the types of mental disease among those who died were mainly dementia, confusional psychoses, and melancholia. In the laboratory, in addition to the routine examination of specimens 'for diagnosis and treatment, a research was conducted upon three patients in regard to the bodily metabolism in dementia.


November's election thrust to the fore the tax reform Blueprint released last June by House GOP leaders. One of the plan's key features, which has received surprisingly little attention, is its treatment of business investment. Outlays for plant, equipment and other business assets would be immediately deductible, rather than depreciated over time, while interest costs would be deductible only to the extent of interest income. This plan to replace net interest deductions with expensing of capital outlays is likely to hurt most businesses — some significantly — and so is likely to face a growing chorus of objections in coming months as this becomes clear to business leaders. Moreover, claims made about this part of the Blueprint's positive impact on the economy — that it will reduce distortion and encourage investment — are subject to significant caveats and are, in some cases, contradicted by the conceptual understructure of the plan itself.


The viral polymerase and several cis-acting sequences are essential for hepadnaviral DNA replication, but additional host factors are likely to be involved in this process. We previously identified two sequences, UBS and DBS (upstream and downstream binding sites), present in multiple copies in and adjacent to the pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) terminal redundancy, that were specifically recognized by a 65-kDa host factor, p65. The possible roles of these two sequences in hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication were investigated in the context of the intact viral genome. UBS is contained within the terminal redundancy of pgRNA, and the 5' copy of this sequence is essential for viral replication. Mutations within the central core of UBS ablate p65 binding and selectively block synthesis of plus-strand DNA, without affecting RNA packaging or minus-strand synthesis. The DBS sequence, which is located downstream of the pgRNA polyadenylation site, overlaps the core (C) protein coding region. All mutations introduced into this site severely affected viral replication. However, these effects were shown to result from dominant negative effects of mutant core polypeptides rather than from cis-acting effects on RNA recognition. Thus, the 5' UBS but not DBS sites play important cis-acting roles in HBV DNA replication; however, the involvement of p65 in these roles remains a matter for investigation.


In this paper, composites with different contents of epoxy resin/nano-SiO2 were fabricated, the influence of compounding process on nano-SiO2 dispersion was studied, the microstructure and the relationship between impact strength and nano-SiO2 content were investigated. The results showed that the distribution of nano-SiO2 particles in the composites could be improved efficiently using high-speed shearing dispersion method. To composites with or without the coupling agent treatment, the impact strength grew with increasing nano-SiO2 content, and increase to a maximum value when nano-SiO2 content was 3wt.%. The maximum value was 75.4%, and 45.5% higher than that of monolithic epoxy resin respectively. With the nano-SiO2 content increased continually, the impact strength of composite materials decreased. The coupling agent treatment of nano-SiO2 administered to improve the impact strength of the composites.


In this paper we present recent cases where human-centered designers apply empathic design approaches for public service development. The public service development nowadays involves a complex network in which multiple organizations from different sector need to collaborate in order to provide more holistic and effective solutions for citizens. Collaboration in this complex network, however, is yet very challenging. In this paper, we explore the mindset and tools of empathic design as a potential approach to overcome this challenge. Based on two pilot projects carried out with a large municipality in Finland, we shed light on opportunities of empathic design in three aspects: firstly, in helping service developers see a holistic picture of the complex service structure and at the same time view it from individual actors' perspectives; secondly, in engaging various actors in face-to-face dialogues and achieving a mutual understanding; lastly, in envisioning new ways of working in organizations through the small-scale experiments. These findings indicate new roles of empathic design for creating collaborative relationships in service networks. Discussions in this paper also include challenges of doing empathic design in public organizations.


We present the diploid genome sequence of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Because C. albicans has no known haploid or homozygous form, sequencing was performed as a whole-genome shotgun of the heterozygous diploid genome in strain SC5314, a clinical isolate that is the parent of strains widely used for molecular analysis. We developed computational methods to assemble a diploid genome sequence in good agreement with available physical mapping data. We provide a whole-genome description of heterozygosity in the organism. Comparative genomic analyses provide important clues about the evolution of the species and its mechanisms of pathogenesis.


In 1936 Leslie and one of us 1 reported the quantitative and qualitative platelet values in the blood of 40 normal newborn infants. Since this time we have shortened and simplified the method used until we now believe that it may be easily and simply employed in any laboratory. As one of the principal changes from our original method is the shortening of the plasma centrifugation, which will conversely reduce the coagulation time of the plasma fractions, the following study was made. PROCEDURE The method of qualitative and quantitative platelet analysis was used as formerly described. 2 Blood was withdrawn directly from a vein in chilled oiled syringes, and any sample containing cerebrospinal or tissue fluid was discarded. It must be emphasized that if any difficulty is encountered in obtaining the blood so that there is addition of tissue fluid or cerebrospinal fluid, the results will be unreliable. This can


This paper researches some aspects of shared practices and social interactions amongst language teachers who took part in a modular in-service teacher training programme taught online in 2010. It evaluates whether and how the sharing of teaching practices took place in one of the courses and it investigates the sociocollaborative quality of the learning, looking for indicators of social and teaching presence based on the model of the community of inquiry (Garrison, Anderson and Archer, 2000).
The main course activity used was the forum as a tool for asynchronous communication because discussion fora allow for reflection, feedback and extended comments, thus fostering peer collaboration (Lamy, M.-N. & Hampel, R., 2007: 40). The analysis explores patterns of participation, the tutor-learner interactions, the tutor behaviour and the interactions amongst the participants.
Throughout the course, many posts were found which reflect on teaching practice and demonstrate the sharing of teaching expertise. However, it appears that collaborative communication in an online course is difficult to achieve. Most discussions follow a simple cue (task) – response (by participant) – feedback (by tutor) structure and fail to develop further feedback levels.


Oxidized carbon nanosheets (OCNs), produced from black carbon nanospheres and used as a conductive additive in the supercapacitor electrodes of MnO2 nanorods, can significantly improve the charge-storage performance of the symmetric MnO2-nanorod supercapacitors with a maximum specific energy of 64 W h kg(-1) and power of 3870 W kg(-1). An optimum material composition of the supercapacitor electrode finely tuned is 60 : 30 : 10 wt% of MnO2 : OCN : PVDF, respectively. Interestingly, after 5000 charge/discharge cycles, the oxidation numbers of Mn at the positive and negative electrodes of the as-fabricated supercapacitor are +3.22 and +3.04, respectively.


In addition to possessing unique electrical properties, silicon carbide (SiC) can crystallize in different modifications (polytypes). Having the same chemical nature, SiC polytypes may significantly differ in their electrical parameters. In recent years, the world's interest in fabrication and study of heteropolytype structures based on silicon carbide has considerably increased. This paper considers studies concerned with fabrication of various types of heterostructures constituted by different SiC polytypes by sublimation epitaxy, and their electrical parameters. It is shown that heterostructures between SiC polytypes may have a better structural perfection than those constituted by semiconductors that differ in chemical nature. A conclusion is made that SiC-based heterostructures are promising for application in modern electronic devices.


The purpose of the present study lies in determining the visionary leadership manifest in the administrative staff of the Guapan Educational Unit, with the research taking the form of a positivist descriptive research study that will deepen the knowledge of the variable that concerns us: visionary leadership. Through the application of field designs, the information was obtained directly from interaction with the subjects, who made up a population of (62) subjects, among whom were (07) administrators and (55) educational professionals, with the sample consisting of 38 instructors. The instrument used was an 18-item multiple-choice questionnaire (Almost always, Sometimes and Almost never), which was validated by three experts, with a reliability of 0.97, which demonstrates that it is highly reliable. The consolidation of this research showed with its results that the administrative staff engages in visionary leadership in the Guapan Educational Unit. The opinion of the instructional staff, however, shows just the opposite, judging that the administrators show weakness in visionary leadership. For this reason, guidelines are offered to the administrators of the state-funded private school located in the Canar province, Azogues district, Guapan parish.


The accountability paradigm for reforming public schools began in the U.S. as a state-based initiative grounded in establishing state standards for core content and developing high-stakes tests and schedules to hold schools, teachers, and students accountable (Hout and Elliott, 2011). This essay examines the test-based patterns of that paradigm over the past thirty years by confronting testing as a mechanism of surveillance (Foucault, 1984) and then examining the accountability era in South Carolina as an example of the power and failure of accountability based on tests. Tests remain powerful, I contend, because they reinforce the investment-and-return vernacular that reflects and reinforces Americans' faith in capitalism over democracy.


The influence of the vagus nerve on swimbladder blood flow in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) was characterized by recording the changes in blood flow rate and blood pressure following stimulation of the vagus nerve. After electrical stimulation, blood flow in the swimbladder artery increased from 0.9 ml min-1 to 2.1 ml min-1. Video recordings of small vessels on the caudal side of the rete mirabile revealed an increase in erythrocyte velocity combined with a small vasodilation. This effect could not be blocked by injection of the -adrenergic antagonist phentolamine, the ss-adrenergic antagonist propranolol or the muscarinic cholinoceptor antagonist atropine. In all preparations with a high initial flow rate (>1.9 ml min-1), vagotomy resulted in a marked decrease in blood flow (by approximately 80 %). This effect was not observed in preparations with a low initial swimbladder blood flow. Stimulation of the vagus nerve produced a decrease, and vagotomy produced an increase, in perfusion pressure in blood-perfused swimbladder preparations. Histological studies revealed the presence of a ganglion in the vagus nerve located on the anterior part of the resorbing section of the swimbladder close to the origin of the ductus pneumaticus, which is probably associated with swimbladder function. These results suggest that swimbladder blood flow, at least to some extent, is under vagal tonic control. The effects do not, however, appear to involve the classical - and ss-adrenergic or muscarinic cholinoceptor functions.


Proceedings of sessions of the GeoShanghai Conference, held in Shanghai, China, June 6-8, 2006. Hosted by Shanghai Society of Civil Engineering, China. In cooperation with the Geo-Institute of ASCE; Georgia Institute of Technology; and University of Kansas. This Geotechnical Special Publication contains 65 international papers and represents the latest advances in the static and dynamic behavior of soils and rocks, including constitutive modeling and numerical methods. The book begins with two keynote articles that discuss soil constitutive modeling. The first section of the book discusses theoretical concepts and experimental procedures of soil behavior and laboratory testing. The second section's papers span from advanced concepts in rock mechanics to the interactions in constructed facilities. It also includes numerical applications of problems in rocks. The third section focuses on modeling soil behavior, with many of the papers using field and laboratory experimental data to verify their findings. Finally, the fourth section discusses the latest advances in soil and soil structure interactions under dynamic excitation. It contains results from work using shaking tables, wave induced loading, vibrations and numerical simulations.


SUMMARY: Purification of the sexual agglutinins of both mating types of Chlamydomonas moewusii yapensis(= C. moewusii syngen II) was achieved by a three-step procedure. Electron microscopy showed both agglutinins to be long, linear molecules. The mt+ agglutinin was a rigid molecule with one bulbous end and an average length of 251 nm. The mt-agglutinin was longer (average length 349 nm), had a more flexible conformation and lacked a bulbous end. The Mr
was estimated to be 1·0 × 106 for the mt+ and 1·2 × 106 for the mt- agglutinin. The mt- agglutinin had a very high content of hydroxyproline (41%) and serine (14%); the mt+ agglutinin had a high content of glycine, serine and hydroxyproline (18, 16 and 12%, respectively). The main sugars in the agglutinins of both mating types were arabinose and galactose. The carbohydrate portion represented about 40% of the Mr
in both agglutinins. The biological activity of both agglutinins could be destroyed by periodate treatment (although their sensitivities differed), indicating the involvement of carbohydrate residues. A differential susceptibility for exoglycosidases was observed: enzymic removal of terminal glucose residues abolished the biological activity of the mt+ agglutinin only, while removal of mannose residues selectively inactivated the mt- agglutinin. The similarities in form and composition of the agglutinins of several Chlamydomonas species suggest that these recognition molecules have a common ancestry, and that the species barriers are at least partially dependent on differences in the carbohydrate side-chains.


We analysed stroke phases and arm and leg coordination during front crawl swimming with and without a wet suit. Twelve nationally and internationally ranked French male triathletes performed three swim trials in randomized order using the front crawl stroke with and without a wet suit. All triathletes swam at three different swim velocities, corresponding to the paces appropriate for the 800 m (V800), 100 m (V100) and 50 m (V50) events. The different stroke phases and arm and leg coordination were identified by video analysis. Arm coordination was quantified using a new index of coordination, which expresses the three major modalities of opposition, catch-up and superposition in swimming. At all swim velocities, no significant differences in leg movements with or without the wet suit were noted. However, the wearing of the wet suit was associated with a significantly greater stroke length at the paces appropriate for the 100 and 50 m events (+3.46% and +3.10% at V100 and V50, respectively; P <0.01); a significantly greater stroke index at all three velocities (+5.18%, +5.21% and +5.91% at V800, V100 and V50, respectively; P <0.01); a significantly shorter pulling phase (−10.97%; P <0.05) and lower index of coordination (−21.87%; P <0.01) at the pace appropriate for the 800 m; and a significantly greater entry and catch phase (+9.81%; P <0.05) at the pace appropriate for the 100 m. We conclude that the wet suit amplified the coordination mode of the triathletes (i.e. catch-up coordination) without modifying stroke rate, recovery phase or leg movements.


This article summarizes the results of the authors' collaborative efforts to date. These efforts are described in detail . In these studies, nine subjects were evaluated temporarily implanted with electrode grids for epilepsy monitoring. Auditory words were presented once at the beginning of each 4-s trial. Visual words were displayed on the screen for the complete duration of a trial. Subjects were asked to either speak aloud (i.e., overtly) or imagine speaking (i.e., covertly) each word. Thus, there were four experimental conditions: visual/actual, audio/actual, visual/imagined, and audio/imagined.audio/imagined.


This paper presents the ADN-Classifier, an Automatic classification system of Spanish Deverbal Nominalizations aimed at identifying
its semantic denotation (i.e. event, result, underspecified, or lexicalized). The classifier can be used for NLP tasks such as coreference resolution or paraphrase detection. To our knowledge, the ADN-Classifier is the first effort in acquisition of denotations for
nominalizations using Machine Learning.We compare the results of the classifier when using a decreasing number of Knowledge
Sources, namely (1) the complete nominal lexicon (AnCora-Nom) that includes sense distictions, (2) the nominal lexicon
(AnCora-Nom) removing the sense-specific information, (3) nominalizations' context information obtained from a treebank corpus
(AnCora-Es) and (4) the combination of the previous linguistic resources. In a realistic scenario, that is, without sense distinction, the best results achieved are those taking into account the information declared in the lexicon (89.40% accuracy). This shows that the lexicon contains crucial information (such as argument structure) that corpus-derived features cannot substitute for.


This paper indicates how the knowledge of complex systems can be put into practice to counter climate change. A contribution of the paper is to show how individual behaviour, institutional analysis, political science and management can be grounded and integrated into the complexity of natural systems to introduce mutual sustainability. Bytes are used as the unit of analysis to explain how nature governs complexity on a more reliable and comprehensive basis than can be achieved by humans using markets and hierarchies. Tax incentives are described to increase revenues while encouraging organisations to adopt elements of ecological governance found in nature and in some social organisations identified by Ostrom and the author. Ecological corporations provide benefits for all stakeholders. This makes them a common good to promote global common goods like enriching democracy from the bottom up while countering: climate change, pollution, and inequalities in power, wealth and income.


Abnormal decision making is a behavioral characteristic of drug addiction. Indeed, drug addicts prefer immediate rewards at the expense of future interests. Assessing the neurocognitive basis of decision-making related to drug dependence, combining event-related potential (ERP) analysis and source localization techniques, may provide new insights into understanding decision-making deficits in drug addicts and further guide withdrawal treatment. In this study, EEG was performed in 20 abstinent heroin addicts (AHAs) and 20 age-, education- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) while they participated in a simple two-choice gambling task (99 vs. 9). Our behavioral results showed that AHAs tend to select higher-risk choices compared with HCs (i.e., more "99" choices than "9"). ERP results showed that right hemisphere preponderance of stimulus-preceding negativity was disrupted in AHAs, but not in HCs. Feedback-related negativity of difference wave was higher in AHAs than HCs, with the P300 amplitude associated with risk magnitude and valence. Using source localization that allows identification of abnormal brain activity in consequential cognitive stages, including the reward expectation and outcome evaluation stages, we found abnormalities in both behavioral and neural responses on gambling in AHAs. Taken together, our findings suggest AHAs have risk-prone tendency and dysfunction in adaptive decision making, since they continue to choose risky options even after accruing considerable negative scores, and fail to shift to a safer strategy to avoid risk. Such abnormal decision-making bias to risk and immediate reward seeking may be accompanied by abnormal reward expectation and evaluation in AHAs, which explains their high risk-seeking and impulsivity.


This study aims to understand educators'—specifically those in positions of authority in graduate-level library education programs—perceptions of and attitudes toward design thinking and methods in graduate-level library curricula by investigating the following research questions: What is the current landscape for the integration of design into the LIS curriculum, from the program director's perspective? What do these directors think about the competencies required for future librarians, and where does design fit into those competencies? What are the possibilities for a future degree focused on reconceptualizing the field from a design perspective rather than the traditional library science? Thirteen MLIS program directors and people in equivalent positions at ALA-accredited programs in the United States and Canada were interviewed to investigate these queries. The conversations suggest there is a growing openness to design education that may contribute to the diversification of the curriculum so that graduates' competencies more closely reflect recommendations in the literature and address the needs of employers. They also reveal dichotomies in how LIS program directors define and integrate design education into LIS curricula, such as barriers of bureaucratic concerns versus interest in experimenting with design courses available elsewhere in their universities, or even the potential for a dual library science/library design degree option. The article concludes with recommendations for next steps in advancing design in library education so as to prepare graduates for the growing number of user experience, public programming, or even more traditional teaching librarian positions where a design thinking approach leads to effective practice.


The issues of human rights and freedom are topical in most socio-political discourse especially in the African continent given the plethora of cases of human rights abuse and unnecessary curtailment and most times outright denial of freedom to citizens. This constitutes a serious bane to the flowering of human potentialities and the general human well -being. This anomaly has however continued unabated despite the volumes that have been written on the subjects and seminars and conferences held on the same. This paper, through the analytic and critical methods, argues that much may not be achieved until the philosophical foundation upon which these subjects rest is well articulated and appreciated. The paper equally claims that one of the ways of enhancing the respect for human rights and freedom in Africa is to recognize the symbiotic relationship between the two subjects. The paper finally argues that an integral view of human freedom/rights which recognizes not only freedom-from but also freedom-to and rights-to, is foundational for the promotion of human well-being.


SLOs have their origins in the experience of Denver Public Schools, which in 1999 began using them to link teacher pay to student outcomes. Districts like Austin Independent School District and CharlotteMecklenburg Schools, as well as States that won Race to the Top grants—including Rhode Island, Georgia, New York and several others—are building on the experience of Denver Public Schools and developing methods for using SLOs as a tool to incorporate measures of student growth for non-tested grades and subjects (NTGS) in their evaluation systems.


This paper describes an Airborne Multi-Spectral Imaging System (AMIS) and the development of its system software. This system has been developed so as to be rapidly deployed in response to episodic events such as hurricanes and tropical storms which may occur year round in coastal zones. The system uses digital video cameras to provide high resolution images at a very high collection rate. The system is software controlled so as to provide a minimum distraction for the aircraft pilot by providing for the remote manipulation of the camera and the GPS receiver. The system is viable for many applications that require good resolution at low cost. Such applications include vegetation detection, oceanography, marine biology, and environmental coastal science analysis.


Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering is a quantum phenomenon wherein one party influences, or steers, the state of a distant party's particle beyond what could be achieved with a separable state, by making measurements on one-half of an entangled state. This type of quantum nonlocality stands out through its asymmetric setting and even allows for cases where one party can steer the other but where the reverse is not true. A series of experiments have demonstrated one-way steering in the past, but all were based on significant limiting assumptions. These consisted either of restrictions on the type of allowed measurements or of assumptions about the quantum state at hand, by mapping to a specific family of states and analyzing the ideal target state rather than the real experimental state. Here, we present the first experimental demonstration of one-way steering free of such assumptions. We achieve this using a new sufficient condition for nonsteerability and, although not required by our analysis, using a novel source of extremely high-quality photonic Werner states.


Dynamic urban expansion simulation at regional scale is one of the important research methodologies in Land Use/Cover Change (LUCC) and global environmental change influenced by urbanization. However, previous studies indicate that the single urban expansion simulation for future scenarios at local scale cannot meet the requirements for characterizing and interpreting the interactive mechanisms of regional urbanization and global environmental change. This study constructed a regional Dynamic Urban Expansion Model (Reg-DUEM) suitable for different scenarios by integrating the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Cellular Automaton (CA) model. Firstly we analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics of urban expansion and acquired a prior knowledge rules using land use/cover change datasets of Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan metropolitan area. The future urban expansion under different scenarios is then simulated based on a baseline model, economic models, policy models and the structural adjustment model. The results indicate that Reg-DUEM has good reliability for a non-linear expansion simulation at regional scale influenced by macro-policies. The simulating results show that future urban expansion patterns from different scenarios of the metropolitan area have the tremendous spatio-temporal differences. Future urban expansion will shift quickly from Beijing metropolis to the periphery of Tianjin and Tangshan city along coastal belt.


Sara Wasson and Emily Alder, eds. Gothic Science Fiction 1980-2010. Liverpool: Liverpool UP, 2011. Pp. xix, 219. [pounds sterling]65.00. Gothic Science Fiction 1980-2010 (published by Liverpool University Press' Science Fiction Texts and Studies Series) is a timely collection of eleven essays on works that combine the "disturbing affective lens" and "confined or claustrophobic environment[s]" of the Gothic mode (Wasson and Alder 2) with the cognitive estrangement of science fiction to explore the troubled boundaries of bodies and nations in the last three decades. Focusing on recent films, TV series, short stories, novels, graphic novels, and a trading card game, these essays make a compelling case for the hybrid genre of Gothic science fiction, showing how it is particularly attuned to the impacts of increasingly invasive technologies and complex globalized politico-economic networks. Editors Sara Wasson and Emily Alder situate the collection amongst "the 'hyphenated' Gothics that have abounded in recent years" (7) as critics attempt to historicize Gothic studies, but it can be placed just as easily in the context of recent efforts to historicize science fiction studies. The collection's move to examine the relatedness of the Gothic and science fiction has the potential to reinvigorate criticism of both. Divided into three sections--Redefining Genres, Biopower and Capital, and Gender and Genre--the collection identifies four dominant preoccupations of Gothic science fiction from the 1980s onward: the rise of global capitalism, the proliferation of new technologies, the boundaries of the human (and posthuman), and possible apocalyptic scenarios. While the essays offer insight into how different works explore these concerns, the collection's most significant contribution lies in its exploration of the complexities of genre formation and interrelation. The most persuasive and effective essays in the collection are those that carefully attend to what the editors call the "the complex mesh of forms and cultural developments" (3) that accompany the emergence and continuing transformations of science fiction. In addition to providing interpretations of primary texts, such essays also offer a more nuanced understanding of the genre and history of science fiction and its kinship with other genres. For example, in what is perhaps the most compelling case for the collection's hybrid focus, Roger Luckhurst argues that, although we cannot point to a time of generic purity, it has become increasingly difficult to ignore the genre blurring of the last three decades. His essay on "the post-genre fantastic" (the recent hybridization between horror, Gothic, science fiction, and dark fantasy [22]) examines the "strange spatial zones" (23) of numerous works as signalling both "generic hydridization" (25) and a changing world. More specifically, he suggests that such changes in genre, or "generic pile-ups" (23) as he calls them, may reflect geopolitical transformations and be characteristic of the literature of "a risk society" (33). …


The Vehicle Routing Problem with Stochastic Demands (VRPSD) is a variation of the classical Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) in which the demand of each customer is modeled as a random variable and its realization is only known upon vehicle arrival to the customer site. Under this uncertain scenario, a possible outcome is that the demand of a customer ends up exceeding the remaining capacity of the vehicle, leading to a route failure. In this study we will focus on the single vehicle VRPSD in which the fleet is limited to one vehicle with finite capacity, that can execute various routes sequentially. Traditional approaches for this problem involve a two-phase procedure [1, 3]. In the first phase, the problem is solved a-priori with the goal of finding a set of robust routes ; while in the second phase routes failures are handled by means of recourse actions, such as forcing the vehicle to go back to the depot and restore its capacity, to then visit the client again and serve the remaining demand. Recently, new approaches were developped based on the dynamic re-optimization of the vehicle routes [6, 7, 5]. In this context the routing is no longer done a-priori but instead performed (and re-optimized) throughout the day : as soon as the vehicle becomes idle, a decision has to be taken regarding the next customer visit. The algorithms proposed by the aforementioned authors offer greater flexibility in comparison with two-stage approaches, allowing significant cost reductions. However, they assume discrete uniform demand distributions and have to be run every time a decision has to be taken, which can be time consuming for large instances. The present work is based on an adaptation of an optimization framework developed initially for the vehicle routing problem with dynamic customers (i.e., customers appear while the vehicles are executing their routes).


Background Lung clearance index (LCI) is a measure of gas mixing inhomogeneity derived from multi-breath wash (MBW) out techniques, which has been shown to be more sensitive than conventional spirometry/ FEV1. The potentiator, Ivacaftor, led to improvement in LCI in patients with mild cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease however its utility as an outcome measure in more severe disease requires further investigation. Whilst LCI reflects overall ventilation heterogeneity, analysis of the phase III slopes of successive breaths in the MBW; known as Sacin and Scond; are thought to reflect the ventilation heterogeneity generated at branch points in the acinar and conductive lung zones respectively. This study aimed to explore changes in the indices derived from analysis of MBW following a year of treatment with Ivacaftor. Method A prospective study was performed between March 2013 and April 2014 on patients with the G551D mutation and eligible for clinically prescribed Ivacaftor. MBW (Innocor SF6 technique) and spirometry were performed immediately prior to commencing Ivacaftor, and at a clinic visit following 9–12 months therapy. FEV1 is calculated using Stanojevic references and all data are expressed as mean (SD). Paired data were analysed with a Wilcoxon rank sum test and correlations with Spearman's rank correlation. The null hypothesis was rejected at p < 0.05. Results 8 patients were enrolled with ages ranging from 6–27 years. FEV1 increased from 68.7 (17.2)% before treatment to 80.1 (16.3)% after 9–12 months (p1 and LCI did not correlate with each other. Discussion Patients prescribed Ivacaftor demonstrated improvements in both conventional FEV1 and the newer measure of LCI; improvement was not limited to patients with milder disease and was seen throughout the group. In this study, the phase III slope measures did not appear to add further value to the LCI. It is possible that this reflects under powering in this small group; further data will be obtained.


This thesis describes a method of using wavelets in the detection comparison
of breast cancer among the three main races in Malaysia: Chinese, Malays,
and Indians followed by a system that records and evaluates the radiologist's
findings over a period of time to gauge the radiologist's findings in
confirming breast cancer cases. A comparison was carried out among few
different wavelets to find out the best filter for detection for all three
Malaysian races' mammograms. The detection of three filters was presented
to three expert radiologists to confirm the best filter detector. As a result, the
db4 wavelet was utilized to detect microcalcifications in mammogram digital
images obtained from a Malaysian women sample. The wavelet filter's
detection evaluation was done by visual inspection to confirm the detection
results of those pixels that corresponded to microcaIcifications. Detection was counted if the wavelet detected pixels corresponded to the radiologically
identified microcalcification pixels. The findings suggest that no one race
mammograms are easier for wavelets' detections of microcalcifications and
for the radiologist confirmation. After the radiologist's detection
confirmation a new client-sewer radiologist recording and evaluation system
is designed to evaluate the findings of the radiologist over some period of
cancer detection working time. It is a system that records the findings of the
Malaysian radiologist for the presence of breast cancer in Malaysian patients
and provides a way of registering the progress of detecting breast cancer of
the radiologist by tracking certain metric values such as the sensitivity,
specificity, and Receiver Operator Curve (ROC)


In this study, the electro-magnetic properties of high-Tc tapes and coils are investigated. The focus is on Bi-2223/Ag tapes with non-twisted superconducting filaments as these are the only high-Tc superconductors at present available in sufficient length for practical applications. The study is confined to high-temperature superconductors and power coils operated in liquid nitrogen and intended for large-scale applications. The aim of the study is three-fold: to explore the options and the potential of increasing the critical currents and reducing the alternating current losses of practical superconductors in power coils hence aiming at improved performance; to build a model that is sufficient to describe behaviour and to calculate voltage-current characteristics of advanced Bi-2223 superconductors and coils carrying alternating current and exposed to alternating magnetic field; the application target is to develop fundamentals of high-Tc superconducting power coils and as an example to make and to study a prototype 1-MVA resonator coil both experimentally and numerically and hence to demonstrate the feasibility and predictable behaviour of high-Tc superconducting power devices. The final objective is, using the knowledge and the experience gained in the study, to evaluate the viability of a power transformer with high-Tc superconducting coils.


OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have shown either a lack of effect of IRF5 polymorphisms or an association of the IRF5 gene in only a minor subset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in whom anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) are absent. The present study was undertaken to investigate the role of genetic variation in IRF5 in susceptibility to RA.

METHODS
Nine IRF5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were studied in 1,338 patients with RA and 1,342 control subjects in analyses of exploratory and replication sample collections, with stratification according to sex and by the presence or absence of ACPAs, rheumatoid factor, the shared epitope, the 620W PTPN22 allele, and erosions. A meta-analysis that included results from previous studies was also carried out.

RESULTS
Our findings together with those from previous studies, in a total of 4,620 RA patients and 3,741 controls, showed a significant association of the rs2004640 IRF5 SNP in RA patients as a whole (odds ratio [OR] 0.88, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.83-0.94; P = 6.5 x 10(-5) versus controls). This association was stronger in ACPA- patients, but was also present in ACPA+ patients (from 3 sample collections). Further analysis of our exploratory sample collection showed that only patients in the ACPA+ and SE- group lacked an association with IRF5 SNPs. All of the remaining RA patients (ACPA- or SE+) showed a strong association with IRF5 SNPs, which followed a complex pattern of opposing effects mediated by independent haplotypes. The susceptibility haplotype showed an OR of 1.8 (95% CI 1.4-2.3; P = 1.2 x 10(-6) versus controls), whereas the protective haplotype showed an OR of 0.76 (95% CI 0.6-0.98; P = 0.046 versus controls).

CONCLUSION
IRF5 polymorphisms seem to influence RA susceptibility in a large subgroup of patients, following a pattern of association very similar to that described in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.


Autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) is an important capability for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to increase its flying range and endurance without increasing its size. This paper presents a novel tracking method that utilizes both 2D intensity and 3D point-cloud data acquired with a 3D Flash LIDAR sensor to establish relative position and orientation between the receiver vehicle and drogue during an aerial refueling process. Unlike classic, vision-based sensors, a 3D Flash LIDAR sensor can provide 3D point-cloud data in real time without motion blur, in the day or night, and is capable of imaging through fog and clouds. The proposed method segments out the drogue through 2D analysis and estimates the center of the drogue from 3D point-cloud data for flight trajectory determination. A level-set front propagation routine is first employed to identify the target of interest and establish its silhouette information. Sufficient domain knowledge, such as the size of the drogue and the expected operable distance, is integrated into our approach to quickly eliminate unlikely target candidates. A statistical analysis along with a random sample consensus (RANSAC) is performed on the target to reduce noise and estimate the center of the drogue after all 3D points on the drogue are identified. The estimated center and drogue silhouette serve as the seed points to efficiently locate the target in the next frame.


Chinese students represent an increasing proportion of the student body in Canadian postsecondary institutions (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2015). While studying abroad, many of these students face linguistic and sociocultural challenges (Zhang, 2016), resulting in calls for Western instructors to provide linguistically and culturally sensitive instruction (Lin & Scherz, 2014). In this qualitative study, we utilized a form of reflexive ethnography (Enfield & Stasz, 2011) to outline our experiences teaching a required research methodology course to Chinese graduate students. Specifically, we discuss our pedagogical efforts in context of utilizing students' reported research experiences, facilitating their acquisition of subject-specific vocabulary, and fostering a collaborative learning environment. We conclude by offering instructional suggestions to others who teach research methodologies to Chinese students.


Many Internet failures are caused by misconfigurations of the BGP routers that manage routing of traffic between domains. The problems are usually due to a combination of human errors and the lack of a high-level language for specifying routing policies that can be used to generate router configurations. We describe an implemented approach that uses a declarative language for specifying network-wide routing policies to automatically configure routers and show how it can also be used by software agents to diagnose and correct some networking problems. The language is grounded in an ontology defined in OWL and polices expressed in it are automatically compiled into low-level router configurations. A distributed collection of software agents use the high-level policies and a custom argumentation protocol to share and reason over information about routing failures, diagnose probable causes, and correct them by reconfiguring routers and/or recommending actions to human operators. We have evaluated the framework in both a simulator and on a small physical network. Our results show that the framework performs well in identifying failure causes and automatically correcting them by reconfiguring routers when permitted by the policies.


Uncertainty in climate change impact projections originates mainly from the inadequacies in structure and parameters of the impact model, climate change scenarios and other input data. Previous studies tried to account for the uncertainty from one or two of the major sources. Here, we developed a super-ensemble-based probabilistic projection to account for the uncertainties from three major sources comprehensively. We demonstrated the approach by assessing projected climate change impact on barley growth and yield in the Boreal and Mediterranean climatic zones in Europe using eight crop models and multiple sets of crop model parameters under three representative climate change scenarios for the 2050s. We further quantified and compared the contribution of crop model structure, crop model parameter and climate change scenario to the mean squared error using the multivariate analysis of variance. The projected changes in barley yield due to climate change by the 2050s ranged from -45.8% to +26.3% at Jokioinen, Finland and from -54.8% to +78.6% at Lleida, Spain, relative to 1981-2010 level. Based on the super-ensemble probabilistic projection, the median of simulated yield change was -3.8% and +7.5%, and the probability of yield decrease was 0.57 and 0.43 in the 2050s, at Jokioinen and Lleida, respectively. The contribution of crop model structure, crop model parameters, and climate change scenarios to the mean squared error was, respectively, 37%, 53%, and 2% at Jokioinen, and 46%, 40%, and 2% at Lleida, for our setting with just three different climate scenarios. The super-ensemble-based probabilistic approach can provide more useful information and better understanding of the uncertainties in climate change impact projections. and stakeholder interaction (e.g. communication with, relevance for). For operational and tactical strategies (changes in practice in response to daily, monthly, or seasonal variation in conditions) most challenges were technical, relating to limitations in the processes and mechanisms represented in models. For longer term strategic climate change adaptation, uncertainty about future socio-economic context (e.g. prices and regulation) and the impact of new adaptation options (e.g. appearance of new technologies) were highlighted. Progressively novel and far-reaching strategies increasingly challenge the scope of existing models. Whilst models vary in capacity, most modellers reported a potential to better characterise adaptation. However, costs (e.g. trade-offs with processing speed) and the fact that adaptation lies beyond the initial remit of many models mean that strategic prioritisation of adaptation as a focus for modelling is key to facilitating model development to support effective stakeholder choices.


Rising tropospheric ozone (O3) concentrations have been identified as a significant threat to crop production. In the present study two snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes with known difference in sensitivity to O3 namely S156 (sensitive) and R123 (resistant) were compared with respect to their response to O3 using an Open-Top chambers to throw light on the physiological and biochemical basis of O3 effects. Seedlings were exposed to two different controlled levels of O3 (0 and 80 nmol mol−1 ). Chlorophyll a fluorescence and photosynthetic gas exchange were measured in parallel throughout the growing season. Yield data were collected at physiological maturity. The physiological O3 induced effects were evident long before visible damage appeared in the S156 genotype. Photosynthesis was largely inhibited in the S156 genotype, mainly due to inhibition of the photosynthetic electron transport chain, resulting in decreased reduction of end electron acceptors with consequential reduced carboxylation efficiency and regeneration capacity of RuBP. The seed yield data corresponded well to the photosynthetic response of the test plants.


Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is a synthetic chemical used in unleaded gasoline as an additive to reduce levels of ozone and carbon monoxide from auto exhaust. Due to its chemical and recalcitrant properties, MTBE has caused groundwater contamination worldwide. A laboratory-scale biofilter made of a natural fiber (kenaf) mat and inoculated with MTBE-degrading microorganisms, was evaluated for MTBE removal efficiency. Operational parameters of oxygen flow rate, hydraulic retention time (HRT), yeast extract and initial MTBE concentration were varied and MTBE removal efficiencies determined. Four kinetic models were evaluated to describe the MTBE removal in the reactor. Formaldehyde and tertiary butyl alcohol (the most two reported MTBE biodegradation byproducts) were not found in the effluent; instead, carbon dioxide was monitored as the end product based on the results of a metabolic mass balance evaluation. Toxicity of treated effluent was evaluated by employing the Microtox acute toxicity test and comparing that to the influent.


Abstract The syntheses of new tetraaza macrocyclic compounds of variable ring sizes by non-template methods and their characterization with the help of elemental analysis and spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR) have been reported in detail. The vibrational frequencies determined experimentally are compared with those obtained theoretically from density functional theory (DFT) and Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations. The comparisons between the experimental and theoretical results indicate that B3LYP level with both the 3-21G(d) and 6-31G+(d,p) basis sets is able to provide satisfactory results for predicting IR properties. The frontier molecular orbital diagrams and molecular electrostatic potential maps of title compounds have been also calculated and visualized at the B3LYP/6-31G+(d,p) level of theory.


This dissertation takes performance-driven character animation as a representative application and advances motion capture algorithms and animation methods to meet its high demands. Existing approaches have either coarse resolution and restricted capture volume, require expensive and complex multi-camera systems, or use intrusive suits and controllers. For motion capture, set-up time is reduced using fewer cameras, accuracy is increased despite occlusions and general environments, initialization is automated, and free roaming is enabled by egocentric cameras. For animation, increased robustness enables the use of low-cost sensors input, custom control gesture definition is guided to support novice users, and animation expressiveness is increased. The important contributions are: 1) an analytic and differentiable visibility model for pose optimization under strong occlusions, 2) a volumetric contour model for automatic actor initialization in general scenes, 3) a method to annotate and augment image-pose databases automatically, 4) the utilization of unlabeled examples for character control, and 5) the generalization and disambiguation of cyclical gestures for faithful character animation. In summary, the whole process of human motion capture, processing, and application to animation is advanced. These advances on the state of the art have the potential to improve many interactive applications, within and outside virtual reality.


The Ihram and its clothes is the first of the actions that the disciple of Hajj or Umrah does. And many of the rulings are related to this Ihram. A woman can wear whatever she wants from black or green or other colors, except imitating the men in their clothes. Also, she is not allowed to wear the (Niqab and gloves) during the Ihram .The  God Almighty did not specify the women in a garment like a man, he must wear (Izar and Robe).  The climate of the holy city of Makkah is not hidden from us, and the role of heat, which completely controls the nature of the weather in it, becomes clear . It is crucial to have sustainable designs that fulfill the functional requirements of Ihram Women Clothes . Given the importance of this topic, the researchers did not find a specialized study that dealt with the Ihram Women Clothes to find solutions to the problems she faces while performing the rituals of Hajj and Umrah. This study aimed to producing sustainable designs for the Ihram women clothes to conform the functional  requirements . And get to know the opinions of specialists towards the designs implemented for the Ihram women clothes conform to the functional requirements . Also,  knowing the opinions of female consumers towards the designs implemented for the Ihram women clothing to be compatible with functional  performance .The researchers followed the descriptive and analytical approach, in addition to the applied study, through designing and implementing samples for sustainable designs for the Ihram women clothing , fulfilling the functional requirements .The research sample includes the research sample consisted of (162) women, divided into (97) women, who answered the opinion poll . Which varied their nationalities between (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Hadramout, Pakistan) and the number (65) consumed to know their views towards the implemented designs .The results showed that specialists and consumers agree that Design No. 2 is the best in achieving functional and environmental aspects (sustainability). The study presented a recommendation to conduct more research to experiment the designs during the Hajj season and to actually measure the extent to which it fulfills the functional requirements of women .


Retinoic acid (RA) has powerful dose-dependent dysmorphogenic effects on Xenopus embryos. The defects produced are dependent upon the stage and duration of treatment. Characteristic dysmorphogenic effects occur in the visceral (branchial) arch region and the tail. These regions correspond to the domains of expression of the retinoid receptors RAR gamma and RXR beta. By expressing domain-swapped and dominant negative derivatives of RAR gamma in embryos, we have shown that the effects of RA are mediated transcriptionally. Furthermore, the expression of dominant negative receptors in the absence of exogenous ligand has no apparent harmful effect upon early development. Finally, we have identified a novel MAP kinase phosphatase whose expression pattern is localized to regions similar to RAR gamma, and which is upregulated by RA.


To understand the behaviors of an individual, it is crucial to understand the neural connections of the nervous system, that is, the connectome. The hermaphrodite Caenorhabditis elegans connectome has served as a prototype for analytical studies since the chemical synapses and gap junctions among the 302 neurons were completely mapped. Recently, monoamine (MA) and neuropeptide (NP) connections were established, which form a multilayer connectome in conjunction with chemical synapses and gap junctions. In this study, we investigated the difference in the in-degree and out-degree distributions, respectively, among the connectomes with and without MA and NP connections. We found that the in-degree and out-degree distributions show different properties of dissimilarity. We discovered that only a few of the degree distributions can be fitted perfectly to power-law or exponential models. Finally, clustering analysis suggests that MA and NP connections significantly alter the degree distributions of the C. elegans connectome. Overall, our study provides an insight into the structural properties of the multilayer connectome with MA and NP connections and confirms the necessity to investigate the multilayer connectome to understand the behaviors of a worm.


Objective To determine the antimicrobial effect of zam zam water against Salmonella typhi in vitro. The antimicrobial effect was measured from the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of zamzam water against Salmonella typhi. Design This experimental study used post-test only control group design with four time repetition. Step one was cultivating bacteria in liquid medium with various concentration of extract, that was 1 %, 1.25 %, 1.5 %, 1.75 %, 2 % with two control, extract control and bacterial control. Results The MIC (Minimal Inhibition Concentration) is 1.5 % concentration of extract. Step two was plating in NAP (Nutrient Agar Plate) medium. The MBC (Minimal Bactericidal Concentration) is 1.75 % concentration of zamzam water. The result of experiment was knew there are different average of Salmonella typhi colony from every group. The result experiment was analyzed by One Way Anova Test. The hypothesis test of MBC show significant differentiation, and then was continued with regression test. The conclusion of this study was zamzam water have antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhii in vitro.


The global socio- economic environment is confronting at present with a series of chalanges, from the unemployment to the increase of inequity between social classes and is marked by a lack of leadership both in developed and developing regions, leadership being considered a key factor in obtaining positive economic performances, both at country and company level.
In this context there is a growing necesity to adopt a new approach on leadership and to build solutions adapted to the particularities of each company. Developing an effective leadership program at company level is a process that includes a number of stages and is not possible without highly trained and competent people.
As a consequence, only by creating an efficient learning system it is possible to have both highly trained specalists and leaders capable of performing effectively in the knowledge based economy.
The present paper makes a comparative analysis of the learning systems in some of the world's regions (Europe, North America, Middle East, Asia, Latin America etc.) related to the perception on leadership in these areas. There are analyzed indicators such as the percentage of higher education enrollment, the quality of the educational system, the quality of management schools, the degree of internet access in schools, the availability of research services and the level of staff training. These indicators are then correlated with the leadership indicators from the same regions, aiming to extract conclusions regarding the influence of the learning system on the leadership and, in this way, on the economic performances of organizations.


Abstract To extrapolate the influence of plant cultivars varying in resistance levels to hosts on parasitoid life history traits, we estimated variation in parasitoid developmental and reproductive performances as a function of resistance in soybean cultivars, which were randomly chosen from a line of resistant genotypes. Our study showed that the parasitoid Meteorus pulchricornis varied widely in offspring survival and lifetime fecundity, but varied slightly in development time and adult body size, in response to the soybean cultivars that varied in resistance to the host Spodoptera litura. Furthermore, the variability in survival and lifetime fecundity was different between attacking the 2nd and the 4th instar host larvae, varying more in survival but less in lifetime fecundity when attacking the 4th than 2nd instar larvae. Our study provides further evidence supporting that plant resistance to herbivorous hosts have variable effects on different life history traits of higher trophic level parasitoids.


Abstract The Vimy Memorial commemorates Canadians who fought and died in the First World War. In honoring the ordinary soldier, it departs from earlier traditions of celebrating victory or paying tribute to military leaders. The memorial is remarkable for its aesthetic qualities, as well as for its relationship to its battle landscape. This presentation examines the original conception of the monument and memorial park as a sacred site. It traces the gradual deterioration of the site, and the consequential challenges to its management and presentation, attributable to an under-appreciation of its metaphysical qualities. The presentation concludes with a description of a recent major international restoration project aimed at recapturing the significance of the place.


Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is a medicinal forest herb native to Appalachia. Its roots and rhizomes are used as an antimicrobial and for the treatment of intestinal ailments. Three alkaloids–berberine, hydrastine, and canadine–are recognized as the major bioactive constituents in goldenseal. One important postharvest processing step for goldenseal is drying; however, it is not known how drying temperature influences the concentrations of these alkaloids. In this study, pre-emergent (dormant) goldenseal samples were freeze-dried or air-dried at six different temperatures (26.7 to 54.4 °C) to determine the relationship between drying temperature and alkaloid content in the rhizome and roots. High performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that berberine and hydrastine levels were unaffected by drying temperature, while canadine levels decreased as temperature increased (0.55% w/w on average when samples were freeze-dried, down to 0.27% w/w on average when dried at 54.4 °C). While canadine is the least abundant alkaloid of the three, it is known to have key antibacterial properties. Developing a more standardized drying protocol for goldenseal could lead to a more predictable phytochemical profile.


BACKGROUND
People with Parkinson's disease (PD) often experience symptoms that affect their ability to eat. This may contribute to weight loss and increased risk of malnutrition.

OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to quantify the extent of nutrition impact symptoms (NIS) in the population and a scoring system of NIS is incorporated in the tool used to identify malnutrition.

METHODS
In this cross-sectional study members of the Norwegian Parkinson's Association, with any PD diagnosis and stage of illness, were invited to respond to an online 24-item questionnaire. Questions from two validated questionnaires, abridged patient-generated subjective global assessment (aPG-SGA) and Radboud Oral Motor Inventory for Parkinson's disease (ROMP), were adapted to an online format.

RESULTS
The questionnaire was sent to 3047 members, of which 508 persons (17%) responded (61% men). In total, 59% were categorized as well-nourished, 34% at risk of malnutrition and 6.5% as malnourished. A quarter of all participants reported symptoms that affected food intake. The most frequent symptoms were constipation (14.2%) and dry mouth (13.4%). On average (SD), malnourished participants reported 3.4 (1.4) symptoms as opposed to 0.1 (0.3) per well-nourished participant. Malnourished participants had more swallowing problems than well-nourished, a mean total ROMP score of 15.5 (6.0) versus 9.0 (2.9) (p <0.001). As the number of points in the ROMP-score increased by one, the points in the aPG-SGA score increased with 37% (95% CI 0.309-0.428).

CONCLUSION
Risk of malnutrition was largely related to NIS, especially dysphagia in people with PD. Symptoms affecting food intake should be systematically mapped and treated in conjunction with PD to prevent malnutrition. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


In this paper, the crack propagation and branching in the pre-cracked and notched samples have been modeled using nonlocal peridynamic theory. The bond-based peridynamic model has been numerically implemented which make it possible to simulate the various features of dynamic brittle fracture such as crack propagation, asymmetries of crack paths and successive branching. The fracture simulation of thin plates made of a brittle material with different crack and notch patterns has been considered. The molecular dynamics open-source free LAMMPS code has been updated to implement the peridynamic theory based modeling tool for two-dimensional numerical analysis. The simulations show that, the simulations time significantly decreases which is the core and distracting deficiency of the peridynamic method. Moreover, the simulated results demonstrate the capability of peridynamic theory to precisely predict the crack propagation paths as well as crack branching during dynamic fracture process. The good agreement between simulation and experiments is achieved.


Vaccinium meridonale Sw or Andean berry has antioxidant properties due to its high content of polyphenols, as anthocyanins and phenolic acids. Polyphenols have been associated with the prevention of chronic and cardiovascular diseases. In the last years, alcoholic drinks have been studied for their composition and health benefits. By this, the aim of this research was to obtain three types of alcoholic beverages from Andean berry, which have different treatments. The methods used to obtain the beverages were macerated fruit machine (MAC), preheating of the fruit (CAL) and by combining both of them (MIX). The antioxidant activity was evaluated by FRAP, DPPH, ORAC methods and anthocyanins and total phenols were measured. Finally, the antiproliferative effect was evaluated on a colon cancer cell line (SW480). Findings suggest that ethanol content of final products is not altered by treatment of unfermented Andean berry juice (must). The alcohol concentrations for MAC, CAL and MIX drinks were 90±1.7, 89±3.6 and 94±4.1 g/L, respectively. The results showed that CAL and MIX methods favor the extraction of secondary metabolites and consequently increase the antioxidant activity. The fermentation process affected the antioxidant power and total phenolic content in beverages CAL and MIX. However, no significant changes in these parameters were observed in the MAC drink. These beverages can eventually reduce the cancer cell viability between 15.1 (20 µg/L) and 37.2% (200 µg/mL).  Thus, it was concluded that MIX treatment has higher antioxidant power and it could reduce the cancer cell viability.

 Key words: Fermented beverage, Andean berry, antioxidant activity, antiproliferative activity, alcoholic beverage.


"The Politics of Place": Domestic and Diplomatic Priorities of the Colorado River Salinity Control Act (1974) This article analyzes the Colorado River Salinity Control Act (1974) from international, regional (Colorado River Basin), and local (Yuma County) perspectives. While the Nixon administration simply wanted appropriations to build a desalination plant near Yuma, Arizona, in order to respond to Mexican complaints of saline river water south of the border, regional (U.S.) leaders used the legislation to obtain additional salinity control measures that would ostensibly conserve the Colorado River Basin's shrinking water supply. The article also examines the efforts of farmers, municipal leaders, and Quechan natives in Yuma County to shape the legislation to their advantage. Keywords: Environmental politics, Colorado River Delta, Yuma County, U.S.-Mexican Relations, Quechan Indians, desalination